Mary Kosinski never considered herself a basketball fan - until now.

Kosinski, 62, of Evans City finished first among the 1,272 entries in the Butler Eagle's annual NCAA Basketball Tournament contest.

March Madness turned into true madness for her.

"She went from never watching a game to taking naps during the day so she could stay up and see the end of the late-night tournament games," said Kosinski's brother-in-law, Philip McCombs of Kalkaska, Mich. "I think it's great."

It was McCombs and his wife, Lois, Kosinski's sister, who filled out the entry.

The couple was in town visiting Kosinski the day the contest entry appeared in the Eagle.

"We always read the paper when we're in town and I saw the contest, so I just went with hunches and began filling one out," McCombs said.

"I gave it to Mary and told her to send it in."

Next thing you know, Kosinski is a college basketball junkie.

"I never watched sports on TV before," she admitted. "When the Steelers were in their heyday, I watched a few games, but I never got into watching football on TV.

"I never felt like you could see the whole game. You never saw their faces or got to know who they were. … With this basketball, it's different.

"Once I started watching, I couldn't stop," she added.

The winning entry correctly predicted six of the final eight teams - including West Virginia - and three of the Final Four, omitting only Michigan State.

"I graduated from the University of Michigan, so I don't like Michigan State," McCombs admitted.

He said he's been filling out brackets for years and won an office pool about 20 years ago.

"I haven't come close to winning one since," McCombs said. "I got Lois hooked on basketball during our first year together by making her fill out a bracket. Now we always watch the games together."

Kosinski became the talk of her church - St. John's United Church of Christ in Evans City - during the tournament.

"A lot of male members of our church entered the contest and saw my name at the top of the list," Kosinski said. "It was pretty funny, actually.

"I have arthritis so bad that I do a lot of sitting. If I'm going to do so much sitting, I might as well watch something worth watching. So I turned on those basketball games."

Kosinski never developed a rooting interest for any one team. Despite picking North Carolina to win, she said she felt sorry for Illinois.

"They played so well all the way through," she said. "In a way, I wanted them to win. All of those kids on all those teams played so hard.

"To watch teams lose such close games and have to go home - I felt so sorry for all of them."

Kosinski has three children. Her daughter, Carol, kept statistics for the Seneca Valley boys basketball team during her high school years.

The day after North Carolina's championship game win, Kosinski was visited by one of her sons.

"He came through the door and told me North Carolina won," she said. "I told him I knew that, of course. I stayed up and watched the game."

While McCombs filled out the winning entry, there will be no dispute over the prize money.

"It was Mary's entry. It's Mary's prize," McCombs said.

"Whenever they visit, they always stay at my house," Kosinski said. "Phil said this will cover the inn fees."

Kosinski plans to enter the contest again next year.

"The three of us will fill one out together," she said. "But I already miss the games. I've become a basketball fan.

"I can't wait for next season."